'I Explained Everything to Biden': Erdogan Reiterates Ankara Will Buy More S-400s From Russia

© AP PhotoMilitary vehicles and equipment, parts of the S-400 air defense systems, are unloaded from a Russian transport aircraft, at Murted military airport in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, July 12, 2019
Military vehicles and equipment, parts of the S-400 air defense systems, are unloaded from a Russian transport aircraft, at Murted military airport in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, July 12, 2019 - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2021
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Ankara's move to buy Russian-made S-400 air defence systems triggered a crisis in Turkish-US relations in 2019, when the first batch, negotiated in 2017, was delivered to Turkey. It prompted the US to kick Turkey out of the F-35 fighter programme and to sanction an entity coordinating Ankara's defence sector.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed Ankara's readiness to purchase "another round" of Russian-made S-400 Triumf missile defence systems in the face of US warnings it will pose a potential security risk to America.

In an interview with the US broadcaster CBS News, Erdogan said he "explained everything to [US] President [Joe] Biden", in an apparent reference to his meeting with POTUS on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels in June.

The Turkish president told CBS News that America's refusal to sell Turkey the US-made Patriot systems as an alternative had prodded Ankara to buy the S-400s instead. Washington has repeatedly denied such claims.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a news conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (not pictured) in Budapest, Hungary November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo/File Photo - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.06.2021
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Erdogan Tells Biden That Turkey’s Stance on S-400 Remains Unchanged
In October 2020, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar made it clear that Ankara was still open to buying the Patriots despite the purchase of Russia's S-400s. This followed then-Defence Department spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman warning in 2019 that "Turkey is not going to receive a Patriot battery [of missile interceptors] unless it returns the S-400s [to Russia]".

Erdogan, for his part, said during the CBS News interview that "in the future, nobody will be able to interfere in terms of what kind of defence systems we acquire, from which country, at what level. Nobody can interfere with that. We are the only ones to make such decisions".

The remarks came after the Turkish president told reporters in late August that Ankara has "no doubts about the purchase of a second batch of the S-400s from Russia", adding, "Turkey and Russia are taking a lot of steps, whether it be with the S-400s or other areas in the defence industry".
The statement was preceded by Alexander Mikheev, head of the Russian arms export company Rosoboronexport, saying that the second contract for deliveries of Russia's S-400 Triumf air defence systems to Turkey will be signed before the end of this year.
In this Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 file photo, a truck carrying parts of the S-400 air defense systems, exits a Russian transport aircraft after landing at Murted military airport outside Ankara, Turkey. - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.03.2021
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Turkey Won't Bow to US Pressure and Will Buy Second Regiment of S-400s, Russian Official Says
Russia and Turkey inked a $2.5 billion contract for the delivery of four S-400 batteries in late 2017, with deliveries beginning in 2019.
The S-400 deal irked Ankara's US and NATO allies, sparking a major diplomatic crisis and prompting Washington to cancel the sale of Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, also prodding Washington to slap sanctions on Ankara's defence sector.
NATO insisted that the S-400s are incompatible with the alliance's standards, and suggested that the Russian side would purportedly be able to collect sensitive intelligence on the alliance's air defence network through the Turkish S-400 contract. Russian and Turkish officials have consistently dismissed the allegations.
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